It has been an incredibly busy off-season for the Boston Bruins, as they have made several moves. The Original Six club brought in several new additions through free agency and also re-signed a good number of their players from last season to new deals.
Due to this, let's take a look at the three best roster moves the Bruins have made so far during this off-season.
One of the Bruins' top objectives this off-season was to sign breakout forward Morgan Geekie to his next contract. The 27-year-old was eligible to become a restricted free agent this summer, but the Bruins worked quickly and signed him to a six-year, $33 million contract at the end of June. With this, Geekie will carry a $5.5 million cap hit for the Bruins until the completion of the 2030-31 season.
With how this past season went for Geekie, the Bruins undoubtedly made the right move signing him to this long-term deal. In what was a disastrous season for the Bruins, Geekie took a massive step forward in his development and emerged as one of the team's most important forwards in the process. He most notably formed incredible chemistry with David Pastrnak as the season continued, so it is easy to understand why the Bruins wanted to keep him in Boston for a long time.
Geekie's offense hit a new level during the 2024-25 season, as he set new career highs with 33 goals, 24 assists, and 57 points in 77 games. This included ending the campaign on an 11-game point streak, where he scored nine goals and recorded 19 points over that span. He also had a goal in each of his last six games of the campaign, so he only got better as the season rolled on.
With all of this, it truly was a no-brainer for the Bruins to sign Geekie to his new six-year contract. This is especially so with the salary cap going up.
The Bruins made another excellent move re-signing defenseman Mason Lohrei to a two-year, $6.4 million contract this off-season. Like Geekie, he was a pending restricted free agent for the Bruins this off-season, but they got him signed to his new contract in June. Now, he is expected to remain a key part of the Bruins' blueline for the next two years at least with this fair contract.
While the Bruins signed Geekie to a long-term contract, they went the bridge deal route with Lohrei, and it is not hard to understand why. As a young defenseman, Lohrei is still developing his game at the NHL level and undoubtedly has the potential to improve as he continues to gain more experience. As a result, getting Lohrei signed to this short-term deal should benefit both the Bruins and Lohrei. The Bruins were able to get him re-signed at an affordable $3.2 million cap hit going with a short-term deal, while Lohrei will have the potential to get a raise on his next contract in the not-so-distant future.
Furthermore, while Lohrei certainly has more work to do when it comes to his defensive game, it is hard not to feel optimistic about his offensive potential. The 24-year-old blueliner took a step forward during the 2024-25 season offensively, as he recorded new career highs with five goals, 28 assists, and 33 points in 77 games. With this, he led all Bruins defensemen in assists and points, which is certainly not bad for a player who was only in his second NHL season.
Overall, getting Lohrei re-signed was very important for the Bruins, and they did a good job with this deal. There is very little risk with this move, and it would not be surprising in the slightest if No. 6 continues to get better while under this contract.
The Bruins made an interesting move earlier this month when they traded a 2027 fifth-round pick to the Edmonton Oilers to acquire veteran forward Viktor Arvidsson. While Arvidsson may not be as big of a name as wingers who hit the free-agent market like Nikolaj Ehlers and Brock Boeser, this has the potential to end up being a strong move for the Bruins.
Arvidsson needed this trade, as the match was just not there with the Oilers. In 67 games with Edmonton in 2024-25, he had 15 goals, 12 assists, and a minus-3 rating. While this offensive production does not necessarily stand out, he has shown many times during his career that he can provide much more. The 32-year-old winger is a five-time 20-goal scorer and has hit the 30-goal mark twice. He also had a strong season just back in 2022-23 with the Los Angeles Kings, posting 26 goals and 59 points in 77 games. Following this campaign, he posted six goals and 15 points in just 18 contests with LA in 2023-24.
Ultimately, with the Bruins not needing to give up much to get Arvidsson and him only having one more year left on his contract, it is hard not to like this low-risk move for them. Furthermore, when noting that he should have a spot in the Bruins' top six and on their power play, the possibility of him bouncing back is absolutely there.
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